As much as we as teachers might be dreading it, summer will soon be over and we will be headed back to school. Of course along with the other feelings that come with the start of a new school year, teachers are also full of excitement and hope that this year will start and end in a more organized manner than the previous! Because we are all too familiar with this feeling, we have created a collection of free resources to help you achieve this goal.

As teachers we feel that having organizational binders for planning tends to be a great way to take a positive step towards organization. We like the idea of a binder over a traditional spiral teacher planner for a few reasons:

1. You can add pages as needed. If the purchased planner doesn’t have a section for student allergies but this is a must for you, the post it note you stick to a page might fall off and get lost, leaving you without that important reminder. When you use a binder as a planner you can print off an allergy list and put it behind the tab labeled student info.

2. What happens when your principal gives you an important to-do list and you are using a spiral planner? It gets stuck in the back and placed in a file. Either way, it is not useful if it is not in a prominent spot. Using a binder as your planner, you can hole punch the list and put it behind the tab labeled important or to-do first.

3. Do you have a standards check list you want to have easy access to? We like to use these free Common Core “I Can” Statements that come in a checklist form. They can go in your binder behind the standards tab and you can make notes about when each standard has been addressed, what needs to be retaught and students who might need extra help.

4. The best part of using a binder is that you can edit each and every page to be just how you would like. Don’t like the font? Change it! Don’t like the background color? Change it! We also like the idea of picking your own cover design. There are so many you can find on line. We had fun creating this assortment: Free Editable Binder Covers.

If you are looking for a great teacher planning binder that also happens to be free and editable, we have put one together over at The Curriculum Corner. You will find it here: Teacher Planning Binder.

Have other reasons why you prefer a binder over a traditional planner? We would love to hear your reasons!

About the Authors

Jill McEldowney and Cathy Henry are neighbors and friends who both have significant experience teaching in the same large and diverse school district. Together, they developed and operate www.TheCurriculumCorner.com, a site where busy teachers can find current, relevant, meaningful, and ready-to-go lessons, activities, and resources that fit their classroom structure and also meet national and state standards.

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